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Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

Introduction to Management

Semester 1 · 30160 · Bachelor in Tourism, Sport and Event Management · 6CP · EN


This course offers a foundational understanding of management principles as they apply to the fields of sport, events, and tourism. It explores how organizations operate in experience-based industries that are shaped by consumer behavior, public-private partnerships, and global trends. Emphasis is placed on the distinctive features of managing people, resources, and services in contexts where intangible value, stakeholder diversity, and sustainability are central. Topics covered include: Basic functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling). Organizational structures in sport, event, and tourism enterprises. Service quality and customer experience. Stakeholder management. Leadership and team dynamics. Strategic and operational planning. Introduction to sustainability and innovation in experience sectors.

Lecturers: Claudia Cozzio, Lingling Huang

Teaching Hours: 36 (lecturer to be defined)
Lab Hours: 18
Mandatory Attendance: -

Course Topics
The course covers the following main topics: - What is management and who is a manager - The history of managerial thought - Planning in management - Organizational structures and human resources management - Understanding leadership - Controlling work and organizational processes

Teaching format
Frontal lectures, discussions of case studies, exercises

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding of business management theories of business organisation in different contexts of the organisation and management of human resources of the iteration between different management functions of the nature and purpose of the tourism, sports and events industry, their activities, business systems and the tools needed to manage them the management of marketing information flows and its functions in the consumer market (including behavioural sciences, market research, destination marketing) enterprise strategies and basic business models of the main strategic planning tools and their appropriate and context-dependent use of leadership theory and methods of sustainable tourism management in an international context the current dynamics of international competitiveness in the tourism market of concepts, models and techniques for analysing current issues in sport of the management of sport in an international context the peculiarities of the world of sport in order to improve the management of sport in today's society. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding various aspects of management theories to the service sector analysing internal and external business problems and offering possible solutions personnel management in different organisational contexts reviewing the management of the organisation as separate functions and as a whole differentiating the roles and characteristics of the various players in the tourism, sports and events sector use and consolidation of information and resources available to determine the differences in the various tourism and sports management systems determining the value of different stakeholders and strategies in tourism and sport and understanding the impact on the performance of the various management systems evaluation of different digital marketing approaches management principles to companies of different sizes and in different contexts industry analysis, competitive analysis and analysis of the business environment in different sectors support for strategic and operational decision-making using basic planning tools and scenarios human resources development and guidance creation of a winning soft skills proposition for new initiatives identification of potential talent on the market operational and strategic business decision support in sports infrastructure sports infrastructure management project management through the use of different software for event organisation and project management exploitation of local opportunities and resources on the international events market communication in the tourism sector in intercultural working environments sports market segmentation, targeting and product positioning contributing to the development of marketing mix strategies and tools in marketing through sport and the marketing of sport development and marketing of sponsorship proposals. critical thinking in relation to current sports management practices, including evaluating the evolution of the sports market. Autonomy of judgement identify the most relevant variables to be used in making decisions in complex situations; relate analytically and critically to information, empirical evidence and data in order to make appropriate economic-managerial decisions; adopt logical arguments and relate information and analytical tools to find solutions. Communication skills The achievement of this objective will be assessed through written examinations, individual and group assignments as well as the final dissertation. Learning skills Ability to find the information necessary to keep abreast of changes in the service sector in general and in the tourism, sports and events sector in particular;

Assessment
For attending students: Project and group presentation: 30% of the final grade Final written exam: 70% of the final grade The final written exam consists of some mutiple choice questions aimed at evaluating general understanding of managerial theories and concepts, and open questions evaluating capacity to express independent judgment with respect to a managerial situation. Duration exam: 90 minutes For non-attending students: Final written exam: 100% of the final grade –written exam consisting of some multiple choice questions aimed at evaluating general understanding of managerial theories and concepts; some open questions and essay style questions evaluating capacity to express independent judgement with respect to a managerial situation. Duration exam: 120 minutes

Evaluation criteria
The assessment of group presentation is based on the ability to apply theoretical knowledge, ability to work in a team, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving. The assessment of written exam is based on the relevance with respect to the question and clarity in exposition, ability to base own opinion on acquired knowledge and critical thinking, ability to structure response into concise and clear way. NOTE: Project work is valid for the academic year only in which the work has been taken place and cannot be carried over beyond that time-frame.

Required readings

Robbins , S.P., Coulter, M.A., and De Cenzo, D.A. (2020) Fundamentals of Management, 11th Edition



Supplementary readings

Daft, R. (2016) Management, 12th edition




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Sustainable Development Goals
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals.

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